Cancer pharmacist gains new perspective on the disease as an ovarian cancer survivor

Amy Smith-Morris’s Story

Saskatoon, SaskatchewanAugust 2, 2017

Cancer pharmacist Amy Smith-Morris is
used to providing front-line care to cancer patients every day, but nothing
could have prepared her for her own cancer diagnosis at the age of 30.

Photo credit: Nancy Newby

She had just returned to Saskatoon from her
honeymoon in October 2016, when she started to experience heartburn that persisted for
a couple of weeks. "I've been an athlete my
entire life so I've always been in tune with my body. When something is off, I
know," she says.

What followed was a whirlwind of doctors’
visits, specialist consultations, ultrasounds and scans until a tumour the size
of a football was discovered on one of her ovaries. "I was experiencing
heartburn as a result of pressure being placed on my digestive system by a
mass," she says. “I went in for surgery two months
after I was married and started chemotherapy three weeks later.”

Diagnosed
with a rare form of ovarian cancer, Amy decided to shine a spotlight on the disease by broadcasting her chemotherapy
sessions on Facebook Live earlier this year.
The sessions reached more than 20,000 people, and
viewers asked her questions in real time. “I’m
not typically a very public person,” she says. “I came to realize, though, that
by being open about my diagnosis and treatment, I was going to help so many
more women.”

Photo credit: Nancy Newby

Ovarian
cancer is the most fatal women’s cancer, claiming the lives of five Canadian women
every day. “There’s a lot of mystery behind cancer and chemotherapy. What we don’t
know is scary,” she says. “By live streaming my chemotherapy, I could show what
it looks like, explain how it feels, and show people it can be beaten.”

Amy says her experience has given her a deeper
understanding of both sides of cancer – as a patient and as a professional. “I feel as though fate has placed me in a very unique
situation,” she says. “As a pharmacist, I have a deep respect for the science
and toxicity behind chemotherapy and cancer care, but to walk through the fire
is something completely different.”

Now, when working with cancer patients, Amy says she has
a new perspective on cancer care, particularly when it comes to cancer-related
fatigue. “I used to recommend good
hydration and mild exercise — this is what expert guidelines suggest,” she
says. “After living through the fatigue
myself, I can’t even imagine if someone were to recommend mild exercise to me.
You can hardly get out of bed.”

She
is also speaking at the Ovarian Cancer Canada Walk of Hope in Saskatoon this
year, where she hopes her story will inspire others. The Walk
is the only event in Canada to direct all attention and fundraising towards providing
support, increasing awareness and funding vital research into ovarian cancer.

“The way we
detect and monitor this disease is so archaic. There has to be a better way, we
just need to support researchers to find it,” she says. “The signs and symptoms
aren't obvious. They’re sneaky and subtle and this is why we lose so many
brave and strong women.

“Ovarian cancer is terrifying, but it’s not impossible to overcome,”
she says. “We do need to invest funding and it’s up to us to spread the word so
we can start saving our mothers, sisters, wives, aunties and friends.”

Since starting in 2002, the Ovarian Cancer
Canada Walk of Hope has raised more than $23-million. This year’s Walk will
take place more than 35 locations across Canada, including Saskatoon at Windy
Acres on September 10, 2017.Register today.

MAKE A DIFFERENCE

Support a participant or team as they walk to help overcome ovarian cancer for remarkable women everywhere. Your donation helps change lives.